Kingdom Hearts: Introverted
by hybred
Summary: Yuffie is so bored that she steals a gummi ship, leaving Squall to follow after her. On the way he meets up with other Final Fantasy characters, and is forced to venture through the worlds in search of all their friends.
1. Nothing to do

_Kingdom Hearts – Introverted_  
_By Kaz_

Hello all! I probably should be studying right now but I got kinda bored and started writing this. Until exams are over (November 10) don't expect much from this! I like the way it's going so I will write until I finish it! It's just my little 'practice' for now, seeing as I have writer's block for my own original story. Anyway, just some things before we begin just scroll down to where it says chapter one if you're not interested:  
This is based off Kingdom Hearts, except it revolves around the Final Fantasy characters involved – as well as the characters who should have been in it. I don't plan on this lasting very long, so I might not get all the characters I want in it, but I'll still try. Cuz most of them are just so damn cool, it's a shame they weren't put in. I'm sure this has been done a gazillion times before but meh. I don't read fanfiction anymore so I wouldn't know.

I can't remember much about KH/FF cuz I played them years ago, so please bear with me on this.  
AND: I think that dude who became a SeeD with you in FFVIII was called Nida. You know … the one who ends up piloting Balamb after it can fly? Yeah, him. I could be waaaaaaaayyyy off though, so like I said, please bear with me. It's not like he has an important part anyway.

Oh, and I know introverted is a bad name. I suck at names!  
KK, enjoy!

* * *

_Chapter One – Nothing to Do_

_Lightning thundered down from the heavens, as the dark shadows leapt from the ground. He didn't know what was going on, or what the dark shadows were that were attacking them. He only knew that he had to find his friends. He had to find Rinoa._

_He ran through Balamb Garden, cutting through the shadow creatures as they emerged from the ground. But the more he cut down, the more they appeared, coming at him with more force each time. He saw some of the students lying on the ground, a hollow look in their eyes. As he cut through another shadow, he ran to the nearest person, and found that it wasn't a student at all._

_It was Nida. The man who'd become a SeeD with them._

_Nida wasn't breathing. He shared the same hollow look that the other students had. It was the same look the shadow creatures had in their eyes._

_A high pitched scream suddenly echoed through the area, and he jumped to his feet. He recognised that voice anywhere. It was Ellone._

_He ran through the Garden, following Ellone's voice. He found himself in the library, though he couldn't see anything that resembled a library. It had been completely destroyed, there was only a small island where the library had once been. In the middle stood one of the shadow creatures, only this one was much larger, and he suspected it was stronger than the others. _

_Ellone lay still on the ground, and he noticed something floating above her. It looked like a heart…_

_Seemingly out of nowhere, a figure clad in blue emerged. She was glaring angrily at the shadow creature, just as it snatched the heart from above Ellone, and suddenly grew in size. It was even larger than before, and the girl pulled out a weapon, aiming it at the creature._

_His heart began to race as he pulled out his gunblade. He wasn't about to let her fight that thing on her own._

"_Rinoa!" He cried, and she turned to look at him, her weapon attached to her arm. A dark swirling mass suddenly appeared beside her. Time seemed to stand still as he approached her, and he noticed the tears streaming down her face._

"_I'm sorry." She said, grabbing his hands. "I won't let it hurt you too."_

_Quickly, she turned him, pushing him into the dark swirling mass. He tried to resist but it had a hold on him, pulling him deeper and deeper inside it. He called out to her, watching as wings suddenly emerged from her back and she left the ground, diving at the shadow creature…_

_The next thing he knew, he was lying in a shallow pool, staring up at the sky. A star seemed to explode above him and he sat up, his heart racing. He looked around, but couldn't find the shadow creature, or Rinoa anywhere. Instead, he saw a girl with auburn hair leaning over him, concern plastered on her face._

"_Where am I?" He asked and she suddenly looked very sad._

"_Hollow Bastion."_

"_I've never heard of Hollow Bastion! I need to get back to Balamb. Rinoa's in trouble! That shadow creature is going to kill her!"_

_The girl's face was now filled with sorrow, and she turned away from him. "Did you see that star disappear just now? That was your world. It was destroyed by the Heartless… Rinoa's probably gone too…"_

_He gaped at her. "I don't believe you." He said, tears forming in his eyes. "Take me back there!" _

"_I'm so sorry…" She said, not meeting his gaze._

_He didn't know what to do. He didn't know if he should believe her. He didn't want to believe her. How could his world have been destroyed? How could a shadow destroy something so precious to him? It didn't make any sense!_

"_Come on." The girl said suddenly, getting to her feet. "It's safer inside the castle. We can talk things over in there."_

_She helped him to stand, then wiped the tears away from his face. He hadn't even noticed that he was crying._

"_I'm Aeris. What's your name anyway?" _

"Squall!"

He was suddenly pulled from his dreams at the sound of that voice. He opened one eye to see Yuffie grinning down at him. "Go away, pest." He muttered, closing his eye again. He would often dream about the destruction of his world, watching as Rinoa sacrificed herself just to save him. He hated thinking about it, but it would always haunt him in his dreams.

It'd been a week since they'd returned to Hollow Bastion, and Aeris had spent most of her time with Cloud in the library. Which left Yuffie with nothing better to do than hang around and annoy him.

"You sound just like Reno." She replied, pouting. Squall kept his eyes shut.

"Who's Reno?" He asked and he felt Yuffie sit beside him on the bed.

"Oh, just … no one." She said, then turned to him again. "I'm just getting soo bored of just sitting here in this castle and not doing anything."

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"I dunno, a dance?" Squall's eyes shot open and he sat up. He didn't think Yuffie was much of a dancer.

"A dance?"

"Well … no … not a dance I guess. Why don't we go and kick some Heartless butt or something?"

"You know how dangerous that is…"

"I know, but I'm just soooo bored."

"Yuffie," he said sternly, and she looked into his eyes. "I don't care how bored you are. It's too dangerous to go out and fight the Heartless. You know we're not to fight them unless it's absolutely necessary."

"But Squall –"

"I said no."

Yuffie blinked at him for a second, then her eyes flashed angrily. "You're no fun. No one in this damn place is." She then rose to her feet and pulled opened the door.

"Yuffie?" Squall said, and she looked back at him, looking somewhat hopeful. "It's Leon."

Yuffie made sure to slam the door behind her.

Squall lay back down and closed his eyes again. As much as he hated to admit it, Yuffie did have a point. There was nothing to do in Hollow Bastion. It had simply been the place where they'd all met. There was no reason for them to stay there, but Cloud had insisted. They had no idea why – well, maybe Aeris did, but he and Yuffie had no clue. It was something about a doorway that was located here. Squall wasn't entirely sure what it did, and he had a feeling that Cloud didn't either, which was why he and Aeris spent so much time in the library studying.

But neither he or Yuffie were all that interested in studying, especially when they knew nothing about what they were studying. They didn't even know if this "doorway" existed, and even if they did, they had no idea where it was, or even where it would lead. Cloud didn't think it was the same as the door that led to Kingdom Hearts, though he suspected it led to somewhere similar.

Squall thought the whole thing was ridiculous. Cloud often had a tendency to just go by his instincts, even if his instincts were wrong. And for some reason, Squall felt as if Cloud was wrong about this whole doorway thing.

But that wasn't what was on his mind. They didn't have to worry much about the Heartless, as they seemed to appear less every day. It was a sign that Sora and the others were out there doing some good for the worlds. The Keyblade wielder was becoming stronger every day.

And still, while Sora was out there saving the worlds, Squall had nothing better to do but lie down and sleep most days. He was constantly tired, having lost so much sleep since he left his world, so he didn't mind as much. He just wished there was something better to do … something that didn't seem so pointless.

"Leon?" A voice asked as the door opened once again. He sat up to find Aeris there, with a worried look on her face. "Have you seen Yuffie?"

"She was here just a minute ago."

"...Did she say anything?"

"She was really bored. That's nothing unusual."

"Right. Of course. Well … the gummi ship's just taken off and we think that…"

Squall came to his feet, looking down at Aeris. "Yuffie! She wouldn't –"

"I think she would…"

"Damn her!" He raced past Aeris, quickly exiting the castle and making his way to the gummi ship docking bay. Sure enough, the gummi ship was missing. He turned to find Aeris had followed him, but she was out of breath. "We have to search the castle! Maybe someone else took it. She wouldn't be so stupid to go out on her own…"

"Even if it wasn't her, it doesn't change the fact that the gummi ship's gone." Cloud's voice came, just as he emerged from the shadows. "We need to contact Cid so we can track it down. We'll also need another ship."

"So what, we're going to go after her then?" Squall asked, somewhat annoyed.

"No. Not all of us." Cloud said, as relief flooded Squall's face. "Just you." The relief quickly disappeared.

"Why me?"

"You're the only one not doing anything productive."

Squall snorted. He knew all he'd been doing was sleeping, but he hardly thought looking aimlessly through a book was productive. Yuffie had been stupid to run off on her own. So what if she was bored? She knew just how dangerous it was to go off on her own. With all the Heartless around, she was sure to lose her heart along the way. Squall knew she was strong, but he knew she wouldn't be able to fight them on her own.

"All right. Whatever." He said, rubbing his temples. At least it gave him something to do.


	2. He Looks Like a Heartless

_Chapter Two – He Looks Like a Heartless_

Squall watched the little blip onscreen as it moved quickly, and he knew that it was Yuffie in their original gummi ship. Well, he knew for sure it was the gummi ship. It was just the fact that Yuffie couldn't be found that they all assumed she was using it.

There was something really strange about what she'd just done. Yuffie wasn't the type of person to go off and steal a ship because she was bored. He'd imagined she'd probably play with her materia somewhere in the halls of Hollow Bastion, not that it worked very well. Her materia was the only thing Yuffie had from her past world, and now that it had gone, their magic didn't seem to work. There was no real reason for her to keep it, but she wanted something to remember her world by…

_Wish I had something like that,_ a voice said in the back of his mind. _No, I don't wish I had anything,_ he thought. _I left all that behind when I came here_.

There was a sudden beeping sound, and Squall looked down at his monitor again. The blip that had been the gummi ship had stopped moving. It had finally landed on a world, and Squall let out a sigh of relief. It would be much easier to find her now. He pressed a few buttons, and the ship scanned the world, and some words appeared on the screen before him.

"Kuzcotopia?" Squall muttered as he read the name. What would Yuffie want to do on a world with such a stupid name? He sighed, and put the ship into overdrive, determined to find her as soon as possible.

It was raining when he landed, and the gummi ship was nowhere in sight. He was just outside a dark looking city, the perfect place for some Heartless to hang around. It was set high on a mountain, and the tall buildings loomed down at him, particularly the one set in the centre of the city. He suspected it was a castle of some sort; it was definitely nothing like the castle in Hollow Bastion. This seemed to be the most likely place Yuffie would have gone too, cities like this were normally bustling, filled with all kinds of stuff that she could look at to entertain herself. She'd probably want to have looked in that castle too. She loved to explore everything around her.

Squall entered the city, expecting to find market stalls and a whole crowd of people wandering the streets. But it was empty. He looked around, wondering where everyone could be, when a splash of water hit his face. It was raining. Of course it would be stupid to set up a stall or hang around outside when everything was getting wet. There was probably some shelter somewhere, where some of the braver merchants had set up. He only hoped that the Heartless had not gotten to this world just yet. They were attracted to the Keyblade, so maybe Sora hadn't been here…

Still, the silence (save for the rain falling) was enough to make him wonder.

As he turned a corner, he heard someone cry out. Instinctively he pulled out his gunblade, and ran toward the source of the cry, and turned into an alleyway to find a young boy bending over a girl.

"Hey!" He called out, and the boy turned to him, only it wasn't a boy, it was a Heartless! Instantly Squall ran forward, raising his gunblade in the air and was ready to strike it down.

"Wait! I won't let you hurt her!" The Heartless called out, and Squall stopped in his tracks. Heartless didn't speak. And they sure didn't try to protect people.

"Who are you?" He spat, holding his gunblade forward, and the Heartless took a step back.

"P – Please! Don't hurt us! We're just trying to find our friend!" Now Squall was really confused. Heartless didn't have friends! They only knew one thing, and that was to take the hearts of others.

"This is a trap." Squall said bitterly, not lowering his gunblade. "What did you do to this girl?"

"I didn't do anything to Dagger!" It cried out, and for the first time Squall noticed tears in it's bright yellow eyes. Heartless didn't cry. There was something strange about this Heartless.

The girl stirred suddenly, and she turned to the Heartless before her. "Vivi?" She asked, and it suddenly hugged her. She had a confused look on her face, but she brought her arms around him, then looked up at Squall.

"Who are you? Please … just leave us alone."

Squall lowered his gunblade. "What are you doing to that Heartless?" He felt more confused than ever before. He couldn't understand why she would hug that creature back, or why it even cared about her in the first place. She blinked up at him, returning his confused gaze.

"Heartless?" She asked, then stood up, holding the Heartless beside her like a child. "You mean the ones that look like Vivi?"

Squall blinked down at her, and a look of realisation suddenly crossed her face. "No. Vivi's not one of those shadows that steals hearts. He's just like you or me! He wouldn't hurt anyone!"

"Okay, okay!" Squall said, sheathing his blade. "He's not a Heartless. He just looks a hell of a lot like one." Vivi clutched onto the girl tighter and she turned to pat him on the head. He heard her whisper something to him, and he suddenly let go, looking up at Squall. There was something haunting about his eyes, though they resembled that of a heartless he could see they were full of emotion – fear and sadness. It was definitely not a look the Heartless had.

"Who are you?" He asked and the girl blinked up at him.

"My name is Dagger. And this is Vivi."

"Do you know where everyone else is?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"I was hoping you could tell us. This entire town is deserted."

Squall made a face. That wasn't what he wanted to hear. "So what are you two doing here then?"

"We're looking for someone." Dagger said. "But he's not anywhere in this town. Even the castle seemed deserted."

"So there's no one here? At all?"

"I just told you that, didn't I?" She said, and Squall narrowed his eyes at her.

"All right. Whatever." He said, and began to walk away from them. There had to be somewhere else for him to go on this world. Yuffie's ship had landed here, and he knew she wouldn't have left the world just yet.

"Wait!" Dagger called out, and Squall turned back to look at her. "What are you doing here?"

"That's really none of your business." He replied, and continued to walk away.

"Hey!" She called out, running after him and grabbing his arm. "We told you why we were here! The least you could do is tell us! You scared my friend here, so you owe us something!"

Squall looked down at her, suddenly annoyed. She reminded him of a spoilt brat, as if she'd been brought up like a princess all her life. "It doesn't matter why I'm here. I'm just looking for a friend."

"Really?" Vivi piped up, standing behind them. "Maybe we can help you. We can't find our friend either…"

"I don't need any help." Squall said, shaking Dagger off his arm, and taking a step away.

"Fine then." Dagger said angrily, and Squall turned back to look at her. "We don't need help from people who go around and try to kill someone just because they look like something else. Come on Vivi. We can find him on our own."

She grabbed the boy's hand and stormed past Squall, and he rolled his eyes. "Brats." He muttered, though he couldn't help but wonder why that boy looked so much like a Heartless. In any case, he still had to find Yuffie, and he had no time to worry about a bunch of whiny kids.

He slowly exited the town, staring up at the castle as he left. There was something dark and foreboding about it that sent shivers down his spine, and he only hoped that Yuffie had been wise enough to keep away from there. As he left, he noticed what looked like a small village not too far away from the town, and he began to make his way toward it. Maybe someone there had seen Yuffie.

He reached a bridge that looked old and rickety. The fact that it was raining didn't help much, as the wood was mouldy and on the verge of breaking. But this was the fastest way to the village, and Squall had to take his chances.

He'd barely made it halfway when there was a scream from below him, and he looked down to see a group of Heartless emerging from the ground, encircling an animal with a long neck.

"Hey Heartless!" He called out, drawing his gunblade. Their attention was drawn to him, and the animal was suddenly forgotten as they disappeared into the ground and began to climb the wall. Squall watched carefully as a Heartless emerged, and he swung his blade, cutting away at it easily. Another came from the wall and he swung again, and he managed to cut most of them down with ease. Then they stopped, and Squall looked around, confused. Had he defeated them all? He was sure there had been much more than that.

As if his thoughts had been heard, a bunch of Heartless emerged from both sides of the wall, and Squall was suddenly trapped in the middle of them. He swung his blade quickly but where he cut down one Heartless another would appear. One scratched at his arm and another swiped at his leg. He could feel the blood trickling down his body as a group of Heartless became interested in his blade, and were doing their best to knock it from his grasp.

Then suddenly, the Heartless disappeared, and he turned to find one on the other side of the ridge. It had its claw against the rope, and Squall had just enough time to straighten himself before it cut, and the bridge collapsed, sending Squall to the ground. He landed on something hard beneath him, and he looked up to see the Heartless looking over the cliff. This wasn't good. The Heartless seemed to be learning how to fight their battles, rather than just going aimlessly for the victim's heart. They'd distracted him and caused him to fall, and had even tried to get his weapon away from him.

This really wasn't good.

There was a muffled cry beneath him, and Squall jumped to his feet. He'd landed on the animal that the Heartless had been trying to attack in the first place. It was a llama.

"Pshaw! You're so heavy! Ever heard of dieting?" The llama spat, and Squall blinked at it in confusion.

"You can talk." He said, and the llama got to its feet.

"Of course I can talk! I'm the emperor of this place!"


	3. Emperor Kuzco

_Chapter Three – Emperor Kuzco_

Squall looked the llama up and down. "You're the emperor?"

"Yup."

"You?"

"You know it baby!"

"Are you sure?"

The llama made a face. "Yeah. Do I have to spell it out for you a thousand times? Or are you peasant folk really that stupid?"

Squall blinked at the llama. "I'm not a peasant." He said. "And what, is your entire kingdom made up of llamas or something?"

"Llamas?" The emperor said, now a little confused. "You peasants are crazy."

"But you're a llama."

"I'm as human as they get." The llama said, and Squall could only stare at it in disbelief. Was this guy serious?

"Ever wonder why you walk on all fours and had fur AND looked like a llama."

The llama stood on his two hind legs, now towering over Squall because of its long neck. "Now listen here, peasant, I don't go around saying you all look, act and smell like pigs but you –"

He tripped over suddenly, unable to keep his balance. He rolled into Squall, who stopped him in his tracks and the llama looked up at him in confusion. "That's funny. I had great balance before – AAHHH!"

He'd looked down at his legs, and found that they belonged to a llama. He lifted his arms (or what should have been his arms) and found that they were llama's legs too. He grabbed Squall suddenly (or tried to, grabbing was a hard thing to do when you had hooves) and looked into his gunblade, seeing a llama's face staring back at him.

"What kind of trickery is this!" He bellowed, and then burst into tears. "My beautiful body is gone! Oh, what a world!"

Squall stared at the llama, a puzzled look on his face. The llama let out a loud sob and suddenly used his jacket to blow his nose. "Get off me!" Squall said, pushing the llama away. The animal turned back to him, tears brimming in its large eyes.

"I understand peasant! Not even I would want to look at myself now!"

This was getting way too melodramatic for Squall now. "Did you only just notice?"

"Apparently." The llama replied, sniffing loudly. Squall couldn't help but feel a little sick at that sound. "Wait a minute! Yzma!" He cried suddenly, and the tears had magically disappeared. "Yzma's got tons of potions and junk! She can change me back! Come peasant! I'll need an escort back to the castle."

Squall stared at the llama. "I've got to find my friend. I need to get to that village over there and –"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." The llama said. "I, Emperor Kuzco, have given you an order! Now, you'll escort me back to the castle, Yzma'll change me back, and then we'll find your little friend!"

"I was just there. No one's in town anymore."

"Nonsense. Yzma'd be in the castle somewhere. Now come on peasant, we need to get moving. We don't know how long it'll be until the effects are permanent!" The llama began to push Squall, and he stared down at it.

"I really don't have the time –"

"There's no time for arguing! Come on, hurry it up!"

Squall sighed in defeat. This llama was persistent. And annoying. He knew he wasn't going to find Yuffie anytime soon.

They had barely taken a few steps before the llama started speaking again. "So what's your name peasant?"

"Leon. And I told you before, I'm not a peasant."

The llama turned back to him, seeming to sneer. "Anyone who's not the emperor here I consider a peasant. And are you the emperor here, Lion? I don't think so. There's only one emperor and that's me, baby."

"You're a llama." Squall said flatly. "And it's Leon." Kuzco laughed at him.

"Just a minor technicality. Nothing that Yzma can't fix."

"Who's this Yzma anyway?" Squall asked, and the llama grinned.

"This real old bat who worked as my advisor up until yesterday. I think she's like a thousand years old or something. A bit senile; thinks she can rule the empire better than me, yadda yadda. She's good with potions though. And that right hand man of hers. Krink? Krank? I can't remember, but he can make a heck of a good spinach puff..."

"Uhh … right." Squall said, suddenly wishing he hadn't asked. Kuzco continued to talk about how he was a better ruler than Yzma, and told Squall of all the great things he'd done for his people. Or rather, all the great things he'd done for himself. "…spoilt brat." Squall muttered, but Kuzco's large ears had heard him.

"What was that?" He asked, stopping to look back at him.

"Nothing." Squall replied, and Kuzco stared at him, then dismissed it.

"So anyway, I'm gonna build this huge theme park on top of that mountain and –"

A Heartless suddenly emerged from the ground, and Kuzco let out a high pitched yell. It dove toward him, just as Squall pulled out his gunblade and slashed it down. Another emerged from the ground and he took it out with ease, and soon a whole platoon of Heartless emerged. Squall easily sliced through them, but the emperor cried out and he turned to find them surrounding him. Squall swerved his blade and cut them down, just as one jumped on him from behind. He turned, trying to grab it and pull it off but it would move out of his way. There was a sudden piercing sensation in his back and he cried out, feeling something grab at his heart…

Squall fell backwards, his heart suddenly released. Something had knocked the Heartless off and he turned to see Kuzco wrestling with it. Though he was breathing hard, he managed to stand up and moved over to the llama and the Heartless. Instinctively he moved his blade, cutting the shadow in half, killing it before it could do anymore harm. There was a sharp pain in his chest, and Squall was finding it hard to breathe. No more Heartless attacked them. Kuzco was jumping around excitedly, as if looking for more Heartless to attack. "Who's the man! Come out and fight me you stupid shadows!" And he started babbling mindlessly again.

Of course, Squall wasn't listening to him. His mind was racing. He'd nearly lost his heart. And it was all because of Yuffie! If she hadn't gone off in that stupid ship to go on some stupid adventure, they'd all be safe! He wouldn't be going around with this mindless excuse of an emperor if it weren't for her, and he wouldn't have almost died!

"I'm gonna kill her when I find her." He muttered through grit teeth, and Kuzco shook his head at him.

"Oh no, no, no, no. Yzma has to change me back first before you kill her. But she's really old. Maybe you should just wait for her time to come…?"

"You stupid llama. I don't care whether you change back or not. We almost died."

"Died? We kicked Heartless butt! I'm the emperor! I can do anything I want! And is that any way for you to talk to your emperor? I don't think so Mr. Lino…"

Squall wanted to bring his gunblade down on the llama's head.

He got to his feet and kept on walking, keeping his gunblade in hand just in case more Heartless appeared. He walked steadily up a hill, hearing Kuzco complain about something behind him. As he reached the top, he saw a small house on the other side, with smoke coming from the chimney. He sighed with relief, finally glad to find some sort of civilisation. He only hoped that it wasn't filled with llamas.

As they approached the house, he noticed that it wasn't just any old house. It was a small restaurant. He heard Kuzco say how hungry he was, but as they reached the door, they found a small sign. It had a picture of a llama in a circle, and it'd been crossed out.

"What's this? They won't let the emperor into his own restaurant? See, I own everything the peasants own, so I should be allowed to go in here and –"

"Let me check it out first." Squall interrupted, and Kuzco glared at him.

"But I'm hungry now."

"That's just too bad, isn't it? Llamas aren't allowed in here and I don't want to cause any commotion. I'll be two minutes, tops."

"Would you get me a side of fries while you're in there at least?"

Squall rolled his eyes and entered the doors. There were few people in here, and he noticed the girl and the Heartless look-alike sitting at a nearby table. Dagger looked up and met his gaze, but she was quickly interested in her menu again. The young boy, Vivi, instantly turned around to look at him, and Dagger snapped at him so he turned back. Squall didn't have any time for them. As he approached the counter a woman with huge eyelashes looked up at him, grinning.

"Take a seat hon, won't be a moment."

"Actually I was just wondering if you'd seen –"

"Uh-uh-uh. Sit first, talk later."

"But I just."

"Sit!"

Squall reluctantly took a seat at the nearest table, which just happened to be behind Dagger and Vivi. The boy looked up at him curiously, but his eyes suddenly snapped down. Squall busied himself in his own menu just as the woman who'd ordered him to sit approached him.

"Ok, what'll it be?"

"I was just wondering if you'd seen my friend. She's got short brown hair, was wearing a yellow scarf and carried a shuriken around."

"Sorry, hon. No one's been here. Now what would you like to eat?"

"I just wanted to ask –"

"Chef's special, coming right up." She said, then walked swiftly away. Squall stared after her, wondering why anyone would want to come and eat here. He thought it would probably just be best if he got up to leave when a voice said to him.

"Not having much luck, eh?"

"I see you haven't found your friend either, Dagger." Squall replied blankly, staring at the girl in front of him. She hadn't even turned to look at him, but he knew it'd been her.

"You know it's amazing what people can do when they work together." She said, and Squall rolled his eyes.

"I still don't need any help."

"Suit yourself then. Come on Vivi." She stood, and Vivi tried to follow her when a large man in black armour that was lined with gold and purple came up to them.

"What are you doing outside the castle?" He asked, putting his hand on Vivi's shoulder.

Vivi started to shake uncontrollably, and he stammered a few words that no one could understand, just as an old skinny woman approached the man. "Kronk! What are you doing? We have to find that stupid llama and have the Heartless take his heart before it's too late."

"But Yzma, this Heartless has left the castle. Does this mean we should feed them? I make a great spinach puff…"

"Kronk! We don't have the time! Just grab him and bring him with us!"

The large man obeyed, grabbing Vivi and lifting him with ease, just as Dagger stood furiously. "What do you think you're doing with him? Put him down!"

"Little girl, this is not a toy. Unless you want your heart ripped out…"

"He's not one of them!" She said, pulling out a dagger. "You put him down now!"

"Ahahahahaha!" The old woman laughed, "You think you can take me on little girl? I am much stronger than you!"

Squall let out a chuckle, noticing that her arms were nothing more than twigs. She would probably struggle to lift one brick. She turned to glare at him, asking him what was so funny. Squall stood slowly, drawing his gunblade as he did and he looked the woman up and down. "Nothing important. But I think you should put the boy down now."

"Ohohoho! So we do have a little competition then! All right, if you want it that badly…" Her eyes suddenly turned dark, and a black aura started to emanate around her. Her shadow seemed to grow beneath her, and suddenly two human-sized Heartless emerged, wearing armour that resembled the large man's, Kronk. "I think our emperor is waiting for us outside. Take these pests out, now!"

Squall grit his teeth, gunblade in hand. "Kuzco! Get out of here!" He called, just as one of the Heartless jumped at him, and he was forced to swing his blade at it. It ricocheted of its armour, and the Heartless pulled its own sword out of nowhere, and lunged at Squall. It was moving so quickly that he barely had time to keep up, and parrying the blows was becoming harder. He noticed Dagger fighting the other Heartless beside him, but she was just as quick as it, having no trouble at all in keeping up. Squall suddenly wished his gunblade weren't so big.

He fought the Heartless off, managing to hit it only once before it knocked the blade from his hands, and was ready to stab him with its own. Squall blocked the blow with his arms, feeling the blade penetrate his skin, and white hot pain coursed through them. He cursed silently as the Heartless raised the sword above his head, ready to strike him down when it stopped. A blade was sticking into its head, and it suddenly disappeared. It had been defeated.

The blade dropped to the ground, and Dagger quickly picked it up, looking up at Squall. "Sure you don't need any help?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"We don't have time for this right now." He said, picking up his gunblade and racing for the exit. Yzma and Kronk had disappeared, and so had Vivi and Kuzco.

"Great." Squall muttered, as Dagger came up beside him.

"They'll be at the castle." She said, though she didn't really have to.

"All right, let's get going then." Squall said, and Dagger looked up at him, relieved. "But after we save them, we're through. No more of this teamwork stuff, okay?"

She cast a dark glare at him, but said nothing more.

_

* * *

_

_Author's note: _Ok, this one's a bit longer than the others. Just wanted to say thanks for the reviews, and I haven't misspelt Leon's name anywhere. Kuzco is just being annoying by pretending he can't get it right.

Koshou: maybe a little. ) I don't want to say the pairings until I get up to them though. Sorry! Guess you'll just have to read to find out!

heartsoblivion: yup! You guessed it! It's one of my favourite Disney movies ever!


	4. Cloaked in Red

_Disclaimer: (I figured I should put one of these in somewhere)_

All characters are © to Square-enix and Disney. Story belongs to me (hybred)

_Chapter Four – Cloaked in Red_

They slowly trudged up the mountainside, seeing the castle as it loomed over their heads. The rain seemed heavier now, and the shadows were a lot larger. That could only mean more Heartless. Squall held his gunblade as he walked, just as Dagger held onto her weapons. There hadn't been any sign of Heartless, but they couldn't be too careful.

As Squall entered the city for the second time that day, a cold shiver ran down his spine. He stared up at the castle as they walked, and noticed that it seemed even larger and darker than the last time. It would take them hours to search the whole thing, and by then, it could already be too late. Dagger looked around hesitantly as they climbed the stairs to reach the castle.

"So … you haven't told me your name yet." She said, and he could sense the nerves in her throat.

"Leon." He said gruffly. "And if you're scared you don't have to come in with me."

"Scared?" She replied, laughing nervously. "I'm just worried they'll do something to hurt Vivi…"

_Just what is Vivi anyway?_ He thought, but said nothing more. He wasn't really interested in talking just then. They had reached the castle, and it now seemed even bigger than before. Squall gripped his gunblade tighter when he noticed the Heartless insignia on the large doors.

"Get ready…" He said, as he pushed all his weight against them, and they slowly opened. It was dark inside. It was the perfect place for the Heartless to live. They stepped inside, and he scanned the area as his eyes adjusted slowly to the dark. There was a faint glow in the distance, and he noticed another Heartless crest on the wall. He guessed they'd just have to follow it. He felt Dagger move closer to him, and he could sense her fear. He just hoped it wouldn't attract anything dangerous.

They approached the symbol and found a room with a set of stairs leading down. Squall carefully descended the stairs. As they reached the bottom they found an odd room, where the walls were glowing green. There was a single pathway in the centre, but on either side there was no floor, just a sheer drop into a pit of water below, where the glow was coming from. Squall noticed another insignia on the other side of the room, so he stepped onto the pathway, carefully following it to the other side. He was starting to find it weird that no Heartless had attacked them yet.

When he got to the other side of the path, he found it was nothing more than a dead end. Before the insignia was a statue of some sort, but there was nowhere to go.

"What now?" Dagger asked, looking around for something else. Squall followed her gaze as she looked at the water but he shook his head. They weren't going down there.

"There must be somewhere else in the castle." He said, turning to walk across the pathway again, when a tremor shot through the ground. The world around them began to shake, and Squall lost his balance. The pathway suddenly didn't feel stable anymore, as bits of rock fell from the ceiling. Dagger screamed as she grabbed onto Squall for support, and almost as quickly as it started the small earthquake stopped. Slowly, Squall got to his feet, holding his gunblade before him.

"What was –" Dagger began, but she never had the chance to finish. There was a loud roar as a huge snakelike creature emerged from their right, just as the water sprayed all over them. It was dark, nothing more than a shadow, and Squall realised that it was a Heartless. Dagger stumbled backwards, knocking one of the candles out of place and the wall suddenly shifted behind them, revealing two seats on something that looked like a rollercoaster. Without even realising, Squall had grabbed Dagger's hand and ran for the chairs, just as the Heartless dove down to bite at them. Before they'd even sat down properly, belts came out of nowhere and strapped the two in, and the chairs began to roll down the tracks, moving quickly away from the Heartless.

But the Heartless was persistent and it followed them through the tunnel. Squall suddenly wished they hadn't gone for the chairs at all. He felt like a sitting duck! He held his gunblade in his hand, but the seatbelts wouldn't let him move his arms. The Heartless was just about ready to snap at them again when they suddenly dropped down, and Squall felt something force itself over his head. They stopped abruptly, and the seatbelts released them. Squall felt as if he'd left his stomach on the other side of the ride…

He looked up, and saw the Heartless racing after them. He grabbed Dagger's arm again and moved her out of the way. The Heartless crashed into the seats they had been sitting in just moments before, destroying them on impact. It stopped moving, but didn't disappear, and Squall knew it hadn't been defeated.

"Dagger!" A voice called out suddenly, and their attention was drawn away from the Heartless.

"Vivi!"

"Leno!"

"Kuzco!"

Vivi and Kuzco were lying in chairs and were strapped down with belts, and beside them stood Kronk and Yzma, who was holding a staff in her hand. It was long and dark, matching her dress, and there was an orb on top which Squall noticed was glowing darkly. The Heartless shifted behind them, its eyes had changed to the same colour as Yzma's orb. Squall was confused. He'd never seen a Heartless whose eyes had changed colour…

"It's so nice of you to join us." Yzma leered. "I'll bet your wondering why that Heartless is no longer attacking you…"

"It's this orb! It has the power to destroy the Heartless!" Kronk said suddenly, and Yzma cast him a dark look.

"You know, I can't get the whole evil mistress thing down with you interrupting me."

Kronk smiled at her sheepishly.

"But yes, it's this orb. We've obtained the power to control the Heartless, and this one's been specifically designed to take the emperor's heart! Ahahahahahaha! This one's been designed specifically to take the emperor's heart. Not that he has a pure heart or anything, but with the emperor out of the way finding one with a pure heart will be easy as pie!"

"I make a great pie." Kronk said, and Yzma hit him over the head.

"In any case, taking the emperor's heart is not the only thing this baby can do…" She said, and the orb suddenly burned a bright yellow. The Heartless' eyes changed and it noticed Squall and Dagger. It let out another roar and dived for them, just as Squall brought his gunblade in front of him and slashed at the creature...

He didn't even get a chance to hit it.

There was an explosion of gunfire behind him and bullets came flying out of nowhere. The Heartless was stunned for a moment, but it regained itself as more bullets were fired. Squall looked around for the shooter, but he couldn't find the source. They really did seem to be coming from nowhere…

Squall lifted his blade, deciding that the bullets weren't enough to stop the Heartless. He slashed at its body, as the bullets continued to smack it in the head. He heard Yzma cry out "What's going on!" and he could hear Kuzco saying something, but he couldn't make it out. The creature, unable to find the source of the bullets, suddenly became very interested in Squall, and was snapping at him with its massive jaws. He moved his blade so that he knocked it in the side of the head and it was forced back, just as a bullet hit it square between the eyes.

The creature stumbled, and it quickly decreased in size, until it was no more. Squall turned to find that Dagger had jumped on Yzma, and was now holding a knife to her throat. Kuzco had managed to release himself from his straps and was biting Kronk on the arm, while Vivi had run to a nearby cupboard and was now rummaging through it.

"Kronk you idiot! Can't you do anything right!" Yzma yelled, as Dagger pushed the knife into her throat a little deeper.

"I'm doing my best!" He cried back, trying to knock Kuzco away. With nothing better to do, Yzma started swearing at Kronk, telling him what a pathetic man he'd been, that even a twig could do a better job than him and _"I've never liked your spinach puffs!"_

Kronk stopped mid-punch, and Kuzco let out a gasp. He stood there for a moment, letting what Yzma had said sink in, and there were tears in his eyes. Finally, he straightened up, and walked over to the cupboard that Vivi was in, and pulled out a vial. He walked over to Yzma, who started to panic and he opened the contents and poured it over her face. She cried out, and Dagger lost her grip on her. Yzma started to squirm around, as a purple pink smoke engulfed her. Her body started changing shape, and the smoke had covered her completely and she screamed out in pain.

There was a small explosion, and the smoke started to clear, and in Yzma's place was the cutest little kitten. Kronk then grabbed another vial, ready to hand it to Kuzco when Yzma burst out laughing. It was odd, hearing her laugh in that catlike voice, and when she hissed at them it only looked even stranger.

"You think you have defeated me?" She sneered squeakily. "Things are only just beginning!" She grabbed onto the orb at the edge of her staff, and a dark smoke seeped from it, curling around Yzma. The smoke grabbed her, pulling her into the orb as it started to grow, darkness leaking out of it as it did.

Kuzco stepped on it. The darkness disappeared, and when Kuzco removed his foot there was nothing but shattered glass.

* * *

Kronk had given Kuzco a vial that changed him back to a human instantly. He then explained how Yzma had been so obsessed with taking over the empire that she turned to the Heartless. He wasn't sure where she'd gotten the orb from, or whether there were more in existence, but he knew she'd used it to get stronger. When Kuzco disappeared, she'd stolen the hearts of nearly everyone in the town.

"I guess there's nothing left here then." Kuzco mused, "Did she make it to the village on the mountain?" Kronk shook his head in reply. "Then we must go there and warn them. The Heartless roam this world now thanks to that witch, and we must do all we can to protect what's left of my empire."

Squall was surprised to hear him say this. "I thought you didn't care much for peasants?" He asked, and a smirk flickered on Kuzco's lips.

"What's the point of being an emperor if you've got no one to rule over?"

"I'll go with you." He said, but Kuzco shook his head.

"You've done enough for me Leon. You have your own friend to find."

"She must be in the village anyway. There's nowhere else…"

"Unless she's left by now." Dagger cut in. "You said you had a tracking device? Maybe you should check that out before you go off with Kuzco."

Kuzco nodded. "The girl does have a point. Kronk and I will need to leave immediately anyway."

Squall nodded slowly. As much as he hated to admit it, she did have a point. "All right. If she hasn't left I'll meet you in the village. If not, I guess this is goodbye."

Kuzco nodded, then wished him well and left the dungeon. Squall looked down at Dagger and Vivi, who were looking at him curiously, then he made his way to the smashed orb on the ground. He looked at it for a moment, then bent over to pick it up.

"Do not touch it." A voice said, and he was stunned to find a man before him. He wore a long red cloak, which covered half his face, and had long black hair. Where had he come from? Squall moved slowly to grab his gunblade, but the man was quick and had drawn his gun, aiming it at Squall's head.

"I do not wish to harm you." He said calmly.

"Were you the one shooting before?" Squall asked, even as he stared down the gun's barrel. They had searched everywhere for the source but they couldn't find anything. Yet here was this man, who definitely hadn't been there before.

"Yes. Now if you touch what's left of it, the darkness will consume you." He said, referring to the glass shards on the ground.

"Who are you?" Squall asked.

"A friend," The man said simply. "And I suggest you leave here before the darkness takes you as it has done to this castle."

Squall stared at the man. There was something nagging him at the back of his mind that this man couldn't be trusted, but for some reason he found truth in his words. He couldn't explain it. He wasn't even sure what it was he was feeling.

"Come on Squall." Vivi said suddenly, which made him jump. He'd forgotten that they were even there. "We should go and look for your friend Yuffie now."

"Yuffie?" The man asked suddenly, and Squall looked back at him. His red eyes showed no emotion, but the way he'd said the name told Squall that he knew something. "Your friend is not here." He said slowly. "In fact … I think it might be best if you make your way to Montressor Spaceport."

Squall stared at him blankly. How would he know that? He opened his mouth to ask him again who he was, when he disappeared into the shadows. Squall followed after him, but the man had vanished completely.

"Come on." Dagger said, grabbing his hand. "You're wasting time." Squall looked back into the shadows, but the man really had gone now. "Who was he?" He asked aloud, and Dagger gave him a puzzled look.

"Who was who?" She asked. Squall blinked down at her.

"He was just here! He was just talking to me!" He said, but Dagger only shook her head.

"There's only the three of us." She said and Squall stared at her in disbelief.

"But he was right here!"

"Come on." Vivi repeated. "I think the darkness is doing something to your head."

_The darkness…_ Squall thought. _That man had said a lot about the darkness…_ He looked back one more time, but he couldn't spot the man anywhere. _Just what the hell is going on here?_ He thought, as Dagger and Vivi led him out of the dungeon.

* * *

As they approached the gummi ship, Squall couldn't help but notice that Dagger and Vivi had not left him. He remembered distinctly saying that once they'd saved Vivi and Kuzco, he didn't want to work with them anymore. He constantly wondered aloud where their own ship was. "Just a little further." Dagger would say, though Squall found this very hard to believe.

As he reached the ship he stepped inside, and turned on the engines so that his monitor lit up. Sure enough, the little blip that was Yuffie's ship was on the edge of the screen, and nearly out of sight. He looked over to Dagger and Vivi, who still had hopeful looks in their eyes, and he sighed in annoyance.

"All right. Get in."

* * *

In the dungeons of Kuzco's castle, the man cloaked in red emerged from the shadows. Staying hidden had always been something he'd been good at, and his stealth was something that he had picked up over the years. As he walked across the ground, he made no sound. Thoughts were racing through his mind as he walked; thoughts that were beginning to confuse him.

_They told me Yuffie was dead._

He reached the shattered orb and bent over it, examining it for a moment. The darkness that it had contained had been weak, but it had been enough to control that Heartless, even if it had only been for a little while. He grabbed it, feeling the darkness suddenly flow through his body. It was just what they needed.

_It's just what the Sorceress needs to gain control of the darkness._


	5. Decisions

_Kingdom Hearts - Introverted_  
Disclaimer: All characters are © to Square-enix and Disney. Story belongs to me.

_Chapter Five – Decisions_

Squall sat back in his chair, glaring at the screen furiously. Yuffie's ship was gone. There was no sign on it anywhere on the monitor. It was like it had just disappeared off the face of the universe. When they left Kuzcotopia, the little blip had been there, though it was barely visible, then Squall turned his head away for one moment and it was gone. He was beginning to think that something had happened to it, though he didn't want to. If anything had happened to her … he didn't want to think about it.

He rubbed his forehead, feeling a slight headache coming on. He needed to rest, to take a break. But he couldn't just leave the ship on autopilot. What if it detected Yuffie's ship again? He would have slept right through it.

He turned to see Vivi sitting in a seat behind him, twiddling with his thumbs mindlessly. Dagger had fallen asleep in her own chair, leaving Vivi with nothing to do. He looked up at Squall when he noticed him, and had a puzzled look in his eyes.

"Want something to do?" He asked, and Vivi's eyes lit up. He nodded and rose from his seat. Squall led him to the monitor, pointing at it. "I know it's not the most interesting thing in the world, but I need you to keep an eye on this. In case Yuffie's ship shows up again." He then turned to the control panel. "The ship's on autopilot, but if anything comes up, I'll need you to fly the ship for a bit. Do you know how?"

Vivi's eyes widened, as he shook his head, and Squall tried to give him a warm smile. "It's easy, see…" He showed him the controls, and let Vivi fly around for a bit before putting in back on autopilot. Vivi seemed calmer now, as he sat in the captain's seat and turned to the monitor every now and then. Squall couldn't help but smile at the young boy, and he pat him lightly on the head. "Don't be so afraid to talk. Come get me if something happens, okay?"

"Okay Leon." Vivi said, and, satisfied, Squall left him in charge.

He made his from the cabin and into a room in the back, where a bed was set up. He shed his jacket, then fell onto the bed immediately, and closed his eyes, trying to shut all thoughts out of his head. He was always thinking; there were always hundreds of voices screaming thoughts at him, thoughts that he didn't want to think about. Usually, he could block his thoughts, and not really think of anything – whenever he didn't want to think about something, he'd usually stop thinking about it, but they were creeping up in his mind slowly, and he couldn't stop.

_Yuffie's in trouble. I don't want to think about it. But something might have happened to her. But she might be okay. I'm just overreacting. She might have landed somewhere and we've just missed it. But her gummi ship could have failed. No! Stop thinking Leon! Get your head together! But I don't want to lose her. I don't want to lose her, just like I lost…_

* * *

"_Rinoa!" He called out, watching as she stepped over Ellone's body. He was back in Balamb Garden, watching as everything he held dear was destroyed. She turned back to look at him, but something was wrong. There was a dark look in her eyes, and darkness seemed to be surrounding her. _

"_Squall, you must leave this place." She said, as he ran towards her, gunblade in hand. He couldn't let her fight the Heartless that was standing behind her on her own. But then he noticed she held no weapon, How was she supposed to fight without a weapon?_

"_You have to leave." She repeated and he cast an angry glare at her. _

"_I'm not going to lose you again!" He said, and her eyes suddenly changed to a fiery red. Her wings emerged from her back, only they weren't white. They were jet black, blending in with the darkness that was surrounding her. Squall stared at her for a moment, then dropped his gunblade and grabbed her by the arms._

"_Rinoa! What's going on?" He asked, though she did not reply. Behind him, Squall sensed Ellone getting to her feet, and he released Rinoa, wondering how someone without a heart could still be moving. But when he turned to look at her, he found it wasn't Ellone at all._

_It was Yuffie._

"_Squall, you really have to get out of here." She said, just as a dark portal opened up beside her. _

"_But what's going on!" He demanded, staring at her furiously. _

"_There's no time Squall!" She said, forcing him through the portal. Again, it pulled at him, it was so strong that he couldn't even fight back. He watched slowly as the Heartless came up behind both Rinoa and Yuffie, then consumed them both…_

Squall opened his eyes, his breathing hard. His shirt was stuck to his back with sweat, and as he sat up he noticed his headache had gotten stronger. But what had that been about? It started off just like all the other dreams … but then everything changed. Rinoa had been different, and Yuffie … he'd never dreamt of Yuffie before. He wasn't sure what to think of it, when the door suddenly burst open and Vivi looked into the room, his eyes wide.

"I think you should take a look at this." He said, and Squall stood slowly, making his way back into the cabin. Dagger had taken over the captain's seat, and was staring out the windshield. Squall approached the glass and followed her gaze, seeing a large group of black ships flying past. They all had the Heartless insignia emblazoned on them.

"What is it?" He asked, turning back to Dagger.

"We think it's some Heartless." She said slowly. "I've never seen them move in such a big number."

Squall nodded, then ushered her from the captain's seat and sat down. "Vivi," He said, turning to the child, "I need you to take control of our weapons in case they attack." He said, and Vivi nodded, stepping up beside Squall and grabbing onto the weapons controls.

"What do you want me to do?" Dagger asked, and Squall looked back at her, thinking for a moment.

"Strap yourself in. This could be a bit bumpy."

She scowled at him, but obediently sat down and put her seatbelt on. Squall knew she wasn't happy with being left with nothing to do, but there really wasn't much she could do. Squall took the ship off autopilot, and slowly navigated it so that they weren't too close to the Heartless.

"Don't open fire unless they attack first." Squall said to Vivi, who nodded in reply. It would have been suicide to openly attack them now, especially when there were so many of them. Squall wanted to know what they were up to anyway. Like Dagger had said, he'd never seen them move in such large numbers. Come to think of it, he hadn't really seen them move between worlds all that much, but he figured they'd have to reach them somehow.

Squall followed slowly, as the small legion of ships moved at a slow pace, as if taking their time to reach whatever world they were going to. As far as Squall could see, there was no world around for miles. If the Heartless kept moving at this rate, it could be a while before they reached another world. If they attacked them now, they could prevent the Heartless from destroying whatever world they were after. But it was suicide! He had to remember that.

He sat back in his seat, thinking over his choices. He still had to find Yuffie, but there was an army of Heartless here, ready to destroy another world. If he followed them, he could lose track of Yuffie forever … if she was still around. Maybe she'd come back to Hollow Bastion on her own? But who knew how long that would be? And who knew if she could even defend herself? How did Squall know she was even still alive?

"I don't like this." Squall thought aloud, causing Vivi to give him a weird look. And then there were these two! They wanted to find their own friend, and had no clue where he could be. If they went off to fight the Heartless, they might never get the chance to find him. He wasn't exactly happy about going around with the two, but he didn't want them to get hurt along the way. Even if they just followed the Heartless now, they could have been killed when they landed, and it could just waste a lot of their time. Let the world worry about the Heartless. It was no concern of theirs.

But at the back of his mind, Squall knew that it just wasn't right to leave a world to suffer, especially when they knew where the Heartless were going to attack. But it was still a waste of time.

Their only other option was to attack the Heartless now. Then they wouldn't have to worry about wasting time. It was a big risk, that could cost them their lives, but they had the element of surprise. The Heartless hadn't spotted them yet…

Suddenly, the ship jerked, and Squall was thrown from his thoughts, he looked out the window again to see a great mass of darkness before the Heartless. A deep void was appearing in space, and he noticed bright colours encircling the void, and he realised it was a wormhole.

_Of course!_ He thought excitedly. The only reason they couldn't find Yuffie was because she'd gone through a wormhole! Which meant there was probably a world at the other end. He could follow the Heartless, save the world, and find Yuffie all in one go. It was so simple!

He noticed one of the Heartless' ships turn away from the group, as they passed through the wormhole. It seemed to turn around to face them, and slowly it approached them. He watched it carefully, it was just a bit lower than their own ship, and he hoped it hadn't spotted them.

Just then, lasers emerged from their own ships, and he looked down at Vivi, who had fired the rockets. "I … I panicked!" He stammered, just as the Heartless began to shoot back. A few more of the Heartless ships turned away from the wormhole, and fired at them. Squall cursed out loud as he put the ship into overdrive, and began to speed towards the wormhole. It shook violently each time they got hit, and it was getting harder for him to control the ship, trying to manoeuvre it away from the Heartless.

"Fight back Vivi!" He cried when he noticed the small boy had ducked out of the way in a panic. Suddenly Dagger flew to the controls and began to fire, hitting any and every ship that got in their way. They came so close to the wormhole that the force grabbed hold of the ship and Squall could no longer control it as it was sucked in.

They emerged on the other side, seeing more of the Heartless ship surrounding a world that Squall knew. It was Traverse Town. As he regained control, more Heartless emerged from the wormhole, continuing to fire, and some of the ones that were heading to Traverse Town turned, and began to attack them. Dagger continued to fight them off, and Squall tried his best to get around them, when a sudden beeping noise caught their attention.

They all turned to the monitor, and saw that Yuffie's ship had appeared again, on the very edge of the screen. It was faint, and there was a word next to it that Squall could barely make out. _Damaged._

The Heartless continued to go after them, and Squall noticed that the ones nearest to Traverse Town were moving much faster than the others. They were also a lot larger, and Squall noticed huge missiles attached to their sides. One ship fired a missile, and it was headed straight for Traverse Town.

They were struck again, and red lights began to flash in their ship. "What do we do?" Dagger cried, and Squall turned to the blip that was Yuffie's ship. She was so close … but Traverse Town…

If they turned away now, the town would surely be destroyed. But they would also lose Yuffie. Squall's heart was racing. He knew he had to decide, but he didn't know which one to choose. Dagger continued to fire, though the attack was becoming much stronger. They'd been idle for so long that they were now sitting ducks. Squall had to make a decision, he had to get them out of there. But which way should he go? They were both in trouble and they both needed help…

"DAMN IT!" Squall cried, angrily taking the controls of the ship. He just hoped he was doing the right thing…

* * *

_Author's note:_ Cliffhanger! Hehe, wonder which one Squall chose? Probably kinda obvious though. :P  
I think there's a lot of weird things going on right now, most of which will be explained in due time. Again, thank you to all the reviewers! Especially Koshou! Yeah, I'm a huge Vincent fangirl too, so I had to put him in somewhere! We'll get to see more of him soon!

o-starfire-o: Thanks for reading! Aeris will be making another appearance, so don't think she's gone just yet!

So for anyone else who's reading, please don't be shy! I'd love to hear any kind of review from you!

...I should really get back to studying now.


	6. Yuffie and the Giant

_Kingdom Hearts – Introverted  
_Disclaimer: All characters are © to Square-enix and Disney. Story belongs to me.

_Chapter Six – Yuffie and the Giant_

The world was turning, spinning, moving all around them in a way that the world shouldn't have moved. They were tossed around, crashing into walls and chairs and the control panel and various other objects that just happened to get in their way. Bruises were forming all over their bodies, as well as all over their ship. The world continues to turn as it smacked into buildings, and finally, crashed into the ground.

They lay still there for a very long time…

* * *

Yuffie emerged from her gummi ship, coughing from all the smoke that was coming from the ship. _Damned Heartless, _she wanted to say out loud, but she knew that if she opened her mouth she might have vomited everywhere. She still wasn't very good with flying. She steadied herself against a nearby wall, feeling the contents of her stomach swirling around inside her, and turned to observe her newly wrecked ship. It had been beat up pretty badly, with dents all over it, and cracks all over the windshield. A small fire had even started somewhere near the back, which was where all the smoke was coming from.

It was a wonder she was able to land it at all. Oh well, it could still be repaired.

There was a loud beeping suddenly, coming from the inside of the ship, and Yuffie approached it slowly, seeing a red light flashing inside. _What the hell is wrong with it now?_ She thought irritably, approaching the ship just as the light started to flash faster and faster. Then the ship exploded.

Yuffie screamed in shock, as gummi pieces started flying everywhere and one hit her between the eyes, sending her flying backwards. She lay there for a moment, then felt her lunch rising inside of her, and she sat up quickly, letting it all out in front of her.

"Eww … damn it." She muttered, wiping her mouth when she finished and stood slowly. She stared back up (or rather, down) at the gummi ship. It was nothing but a pile of destroyed gummi pieces now. She picked one up and examined it, finding that it was completely useless. _So much for being repairable, _she thought bitterly, tossing it back on the ground. "Ah well … better check this place out." She said, turning away from the ship and walking away from it. She stumbled through grass that was way too long, scaling the building, which she noticed was way too tall.

_What a stupid world._ She thought, staring at her surroundings. _Everything here … it looks like it was designed for giants or something._ She mused, staring at a huge spherical object before her. She approached it, staring up at it blankly, wondering at its purpose. It was just as tall as a two storey building, made out of a bright red, and blue and yellow material. It looked like a huge ball. _Maybe it's a statue?_ She thought, placing her hands against it. It moved with ease and she jumped back in surprise. Behind the wall, hundreds of feet away, was the largest building she had ever seen in her life. It towered over her tiny form, and Yuffie suddenly shuddered. It looked like a normal, two storey house, except that it was probably 200 storeys to Yuffie. She realised the tall blades of grass around her probably weren't that tall, and that building she had landed near – she turned to look at it quickly – was a really, really big dog house.

She swore under her breath. She really had landed in a world full of giants.

There was a loud growling behind her, and Yuffie's hand instantly fell to her shuriken. She turned slowly, ready to take on whatever it was behind her, when her legs buckled beneath her. Behind the giant ball stood the most vicious, dangerous, and largest dog she had ever seen. It was snarling at her, drool dripping from its sharp teeth. She cringed when she thought of those huge things, easily ripping her apart with one chomp. She stood slowly, grabbing her weapon and never taking her eyes off the creature. It took a step forward and she took one back. Gripping the shuriken tightly, she moved her arm slowly, then threw, hitting it in its right eye.

It let out a whimper as it hit, and as Yuffie caught her weapon on its return, she saw the dog's eyes flare. She gulped, realising that she'd done nothing but made it angry. It pounced, and she jumped out of the way, rolling across the ground and away from it. She was on her feet immediately as she looked around for an escape route, and on what must have been the largest fence she'd ever seen was a tiny hole, just big enough for her to squeeze through. She looked back at the dog, who had turned around and was looking for her. It spotted her and began to run again, letting out a menacing growl as it did and Yuffie ran. She could feel it's hot breath on her back, and it felt like a hot wind had just blown against her and she sped up, turning back to see the dog wasn't phased by her burst of speed. If anything, it got closer to her.

Yuffie gulped, she wasn't going to get to the fence by just running. She had to distract the mutt somehow. She looked around, and catching sight of some tall flowers growing in the ground, she dove towards them, moving away from the dog as it snapped down at her. She ran again, looking back as the dog skidded to a halt and turned around, following her again. She stopped as she reached the tall stem of one of the flowers and stared at the dog as it approached her. She was catching her breath, and waiting for just the right moment. It opened its mouth, snarling at her and was ready to snap at her just as she jumped up, landing on top of the flower. Confused, the dog snapped at where she'd been, surprised that he couldn't find her anywhere. He looked up suddenly, catching Yuffie on top of the flower and snapped at her again, just as she jumped onto another one. Again it snapped at her, and she jumped back to the first flower, and it did it again and again, while Yuffie easily evaded it.

She grinned at the creature, who was panting loudly. She could see the enraged look in her eyes, and was quite pleased with herself. It made to snap at her again, and she jumped away with ease, and when she turned back to smirk at it, she saw that it had devoured the flower.

_Oh crap. _Yuffie thought, then asked it, "What kind of mutt eats flowers, huh?" just as it chomped down on the flower she had been on, forcing her to jump away. "I guess playtime's over." She said, readying herself as the dog made to snap down on her again. She jumped as it ate the flower, landing on its nose. She climbed up it, feeling its wet slime ooze all over her as she did. She wanted to cry out "grossness!" but managed to hold it in. The dog was stunned, then it began to shake its head uncontrollably, just as Yuffie fell over and grabbed onto its fur. She was being tossed around wildly, and it was only making her feel sick again.

The world was a blur, but she was staring the dog in the eyes as she grabbed her shuriken, and almost lost her grip as she did so, then slashed it across the dog's nose. It let out a howl and she dropped, instantly running back toward the fence. As she inched nearer, she heard the dog let out a vicious bark, and turned back to see it chasing after her, blood soaking into its fur. She put on a burst of speed as she raced towards the fence, not wanting the dog to catch her when there was an explosion above her. Stunned, she stopped to look at the source, when she saw a man – who was _not_ the size of a giant, aiming a shotgun at the dog, and fired again.

"Go, damn it! This thing's only irritating it!" He snapped when he noticed Yuffie standing there staring at him, and she burst into a run again, diving through the hole. She sat there for a moment, breathing heavily with relief, when something burst through the hole and she jumped up, seeing the dog's large muzzle poking through, snarling and snapping violently at the air. She stepped back, just as the man on the fence jumped down beside her.

"Don't worry," He said, which made her jump. "He can't get us as long as we stay away from the fence."

She turned to him ready to thank him when she froze. She stared at him, suddenly wanting to scream.

The man before her looked like Reno of the Turks.

* * *

Aah, I changed perspectives! I wasn't going to do this until a little later but it's fun to keep a cliff-hanger going for a bit. And this it gonna be a bit longer too, considering I didn't get everything in that I wanted to in this chapter, so … for at least another chapter (maybe even two, it depends) we're gonna see things from Yuffie's POV.

_Koshou_: Dagger and Vivi are from FFIX. They're looking for Zidane, who's the main character in the game. Dagger's also known as Garnet, but she changes her name to Dagger. (but everyone keeps calling her Garnet anyway)

_Lady Sonora:_ Thanks for the reviews! In chapter four that was Vincent!

Okay … this is gonna be it for a little while. I have exams now, spread over the next four weeks and I'd like to try and study for them. There will be occasions in between exams where I'll write a bit, and post it, but don't expect too much. Thanks heaps for reading, I'll see you all soon!


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